Father's Day
by Briteflame14
Summary: "After years of raising me and helping me out as Mr. Wayne and as the Batman, he always figured I would have to settle down with children some day; maybe when the cape and cowl was gone. But because I wouldn't be retiring anywhere in the distant future, he would just have to settle for this dysfunctional and problematic group of kids I brought in." In honor of Father's Day, 2016.


_**A/N: I've grown quite fond of the Bat-Family recently. In honor of Father's Day, 2016.**_

 _ **Rating: K+**_

 _ **Characters: Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Alfred Pennyworth, and the mention of Stephanie Brown and the Bat-Girls.**_

 _ **Summary: After years of raising me and helping me out as Mr. Wayne and as the Batman, he always figured I would have to settle down with children some day; maybe when the cape and cowl was gone. But because I wouldn't be retiring anywhere in the distant future, he would just have to settle for this dysfunctional and problematic group of kids I brought in.**_

 _ **Tell me what you think!**_

i.i.i

We had been watching a movie: _The Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ , to be exact, all for different reasons. Tim had never seen it before and it had been one of Dick's favorite films for a while now. Damian had wanted to watch _The Exorcist 3_ , which the rest of us voted against; in reality, although the boy really had none left, I was trying to keep his innocence as best as I could. Jason: well, Jason had no aversion to it, but he wasn't jumping for joy either.

There were just the five of us boys in the manor, and Alfred as well. The girls were off on their own adventures and outings for the night, but they had promised to be back for tomorrow. Stephanie had greatly expressed that if they weren't back by eight tomorrow morning, to go looking for them. The last thing they seemingly wanted was to spend Father's Day outside of Wayne Manor.

Damian had curled up under my left arm, wrapped snugly in his green blanket. He had intended to share it with me, but due to its small size and his greed, he managed to keep the entire thing for himself.

One of the aliens who had snatched a human body let off a warning screech by the bus stop, allowing the other aliens to locate the humans. In all honesty, I hated this movie. Although it was old, it was long and unreasonably unsolvable. Maybe it was normal for other people, but I had already solved about forty different ways to solve the problem before the beginning credits had even started; and only _two_ of those ideas included the Justice League. Dick, on the other hand, found it amusing every time the aliens screamed, and every so often I caught the faint snickering of Jason, who sat by my leg on the floor. Tim only asked questions about logic and the suspension of disbelief throughout the entire film, and Damian kindly dealt with it with unkind words every time Tim spoke.

Alfred had been watching as well, though he was slightly less amused. Trying to enjoy a pointless movie with four boys snickering and bickering every two minutes wasn't ideal for my trusted butler, but I didn't find them to be a nuisance. Instead, I found pride and happiness that my four boys, every one of my sons, blood or not, chose to spend time with me rather than chasing girls or fighting crime (I had dealt with the night's crime already. Even the crooks seemed to be taking the night off for Father's Day). Jason was a little more reluctant than the others, but the fact that he was here told me he chose family, and coming from Jason, that was a big step.

It was when Alfred decided to go check on the chocolate chip cookies he had been baking that I noticed the change. Tim had stopped asking questions, and in turn, Damian had stopped snapping at him. Dick didn't laugh at the stupid scenes and Jason no longer mumbled under his breath or laughed along.

Narrowing my eyes, I looked down at each boy to discover they had all fallen asleep. Damian stayed curled up under my arm, his small hand grasping my shirt lightly. Tim was leaned back against Dick, both legs draped over the armrest with his arms crossed. My eldest had an arm around Tim, his head resting against my shoulder and tucked under my chin. Jason sat between my legs on the floor and he let his arm on top of my right thigh, his head resting against his wrist.

I took a moment to listen and confirmed that they were sleeping; although out of sync, their breathing was slow and deep, the day's adventures and the movie finally taking their toll on them.

I didn't dare move a muscle. If I had shifted my leg I would've stirred Jason, who probably would wake Dick and Tim and then Damian. Although they were all different, they always had a domino effect on each other.

Ever so slightly, I brought Tim and Dick closer, Damian instantly snuggling into my side even further. Since he was so small, it was easy to move my hand around him and let it rest lightly on Jason's head. His dark hair was soft to the touch and he never moved to pull away. With a wave of hidden sadness and pride, I finally accepted that my failed Robin had come back to me.

In fact, all of them had come back to me. We've all had our differences and most of them resulted with their backs turned to me, but it made my chest swell with joy when I realized that they had come home at the end of the day.

The day had taken its toll on me as well and I could feel my eyes drooping as the movie came to a close. A shadow draped over Dick and Tim and the scent of warm chocolate chip cookies hit me like bricks.

I turned my head ever so slightly to find Alfred standing behind the couch, a tray of freshly baked cookies and a glass of milk in his hands. It was clear that they wouldn't be consumed, though I could see the warmth in his gaze as he watched us. If anyone was proud, it would have to have been Alfred. After years of raising me and helping me out as Mr. Wayne _and_ as the Batman, he always figured I would have to settle down with children some day; maybe when the cape and cowl was gone. But because I wouldn't be retiring anywhere in the distant future, he would just have to settle for this dysfunctional and problematic group of kids I brought in. And even though Alfred would have preferred a wife to mother the children, I could tell he didn't want it any other way. And truth be told, neither did I, despite my greater instinct to get rid of them for their safety. I had gained a new family, and _God_ was I in love with them.

"Happy Father's Day, Alfred." I said, feeling my eyes close.

"You too, Master Bruce." He replied gently, retreating to the kitchen. On his way out, he flipped out the light and left me to bask in the warmth of my sons.


End file.
